Minazuki
by Kalow
Summary: Ukitake, Kyouraku, and Unohana work to achieve Shikai during their academy days, but Unohana doesn't like hers at first. Eventually however, she sees the value in Minazuki.


A/N: For this story, imagine Kyouraku, Ukitake, and Unohana as in their early twenties. I'm not sure if Unohana actually was a pupil of Yamamoto's at the same time as the other two, but for the sake of the story, pretend she was. Also, note that since she's younger, Unohana's personality is a bit different (more assertive, not as calm all the time). Enjoy!

**Minazuki**

"This is taking forever!" Kyouraku complained.

"Be quiet or it will take even longer," Unohana scolded him.

"Yes, you should be more patient," Ukitake said.

"But can't Yama-jii show us an easier way? One without so much trouble?"

Shunsui Kyouraku, Juushiro Ukitake, and Retsu Unohana sat with their zanpakutos in their laps in an open field. They were taking one of the most important tests in their training as Shinigami: the advancement to Shikai.

Kyouraku, Uktake, and Unohana were the best students of Yamamoto, the captain who founded the Shinigami academy. Few people attended the academy at first, but of those that did, the three of them stood out greatly. Ukitake had a sickness that would sometimes hamper his abilities, but he was overall quite strong, and very good natured, being a great ally and friend. Kyouraku was rather lazy and liked to goof off, but everyone respected his strength, and he could be noble and wise when he chose to. Unohana was renowned for her beauty, and was a strong fighter despite her gentle nature. She was especially good at Kendo, even though she hadn't even completed her Shinigami training. All three of them were personally taught by Yamamoto, and he took great pride in them.

"Just focus and meditate," Unohana said, giving him a rather stern look. Kyouraku quickly stopped complaining and returned to his meditation. Unohana did her best not to smirk. She could be frightening when she wanted to be, and she knew it.

"So what do you think our shikai will be like?" Ukitake asked, trying to make conversation. Unohana, despite being annoyed at being interrupted, thoughtfully considered the question.

"Well…I guess that I'd want a melee zanpakuto, since sword-fighting is my specialty," she said, "But then again, maybe some other type of combat-based zanpakuto would be good."

"I'm hoping that it's not too different from a regular sword, I don't want to have to go to the trouble of learning an entirely new style of fighting," Kyouraku said.

"In any case, I'm sure they will be amazing. I personally can't wait to see what they'll be like!" Ukitake said.

"Don't forget that often times a zanpakuto takes time to develop, even in Shikai. The Shikai we initially have might not be the top power level available to us," Unohana pointed out.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying that it will be really cool to see what our powers are like..

They all returned to meditating with their zanpakutos, hoping to reach their Shikai.

---

Yamamoto watched his three prized pupils from a distance. Despite his pride for them and his dedication to teaching them, he was beginning to think that perhaps it was too soon for them to be learning Shikai. They were all brilliant, but they had been meditating like this for sixteen hours. Soon they would need to eat, drink, and rest. Perhaps he had introduced them to Shikai training too soon.

Just when he was about to approach them and tell them to take a break, there was a sudden spike in their reiatsu levels. Yamamoto's eyebrows raised, and beneath his beard made a small smile. They had done it.

---

"Hey guys!"

"I know, me too!"

"We did it!"

All three of them stood up, huge grins on their faces from their accomplishment. They held their zanpakuto's out in front of them, preparing to release the Shikais of their zanpakutos.

"Sogo no Kotowari!"

"Katen Kyokotsu!"

"Minazuki!"

There were bright flashes from each of their blades as they transformed into Shikai. When the light subsided, they each held their shikai.

Ukitake held two swords connected by a rope, each with two protrusions on the back side of the blade. Kyouraku had two large blades that were somewhat like scimitars or falchions. Unohana held…

"Um, Retsu…what on earth is that?" Kyouraku asked. Unohana was looking down at the object in her hands in shock. It looked like some sort of bloated fish with one eye and a long skinny tail. It was three feet across, and out of shock Unohana dropped it. It flopped around on the ground for a minute before stopping and looking up at Unohana. It suddenly let out a sort of spluttering choking sound, causing Unohana to step back.

"What the hell is this thing?" she asked, rather angry, "You two got double swords and I get a freaking fish? What on earth is going on?"

"Calm down, I'm sure it has some power," Ukitake reasoned.

"What would that be, the power to be a useless blob? How am I supposed to fight with this?" she aked irritably.

"I don't know, but maybe if we train with them we'll find out what their powers are. I'm sure that they all have abilities beyond what we see now," Ukitake reasoned, swinging around his twin swords. It was a strange feeling, as he usually only fought with one sword, and it was hard to hold them both, especially the one in his left hand. As he swung them around, he lost his grip on the one in the left hand and it flew from his grip, hitting Unohana in the cheek.

"Retsu!" he cried, running to her side, "Retsu, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Unohana put a hand to the cut on her cheek to feel the small cut that was oozing blood.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. You're just not used to using two swords. It's a good thing that thing was attached to a rope though or it could have put an eye out," she said. Suddenly there was a gurgling sound behind them. They turned to see Minazuki beginning to swell up.

"Hey, I think it's going to use its power now!" Unohana said excitedly. She watched excitedly as the zanpakuto's fish-like state began to quiver and swell.

Suddenly, it released a spray of greenish fluid all over Unohana. She stood still for a moment, dripping in the slimy substance before screaming.

"Gyah! It puked on me! It freaking puked on me!" she screamed, "Oh my god, this is so gross! You worthless thing! That's your power? Puking on people?! What kind of zanpakuto are you?" Minazuki seemed to make a sad face and let out a long whistle, like that of a whale.

"Aww, I think you hurt its feelings," Kyouraku said.

"Like I care! Did you see that? It threw up on me!" Unohana shrieked, "Go back to normal you worthless thing!" She waved the empty scabbard of her zanpakuto at Minazuki, and it turned into a green mist, returning to its normal state.

"Ugh, this is so gross!" she muttered, wiping the slimy substance off of her. Ukitake stood up and offered her the towel he was sitting on.

"Take this. You can go wash off in the hot spring over there," he said, pointing to a rocky outcropping away in the distance. Unohana nodded.

"Thanks Juushiro," she said, hastily running to the hot springs.

---

Unohana sighed in relief when she stepped into the hot springs. She wiped the slime off of her body and dunked her head under to get the stuff out of her hair. She was still highly indignant at having ended up with such a useless zanpakuto. It was so unfair. Ukitake and Kyouraku received amazing zanpakuto, yet she had been stuck with what had to be one of the most worthless ones ever.

As she cleaned herself off, there was a long whistle. She looked up and saw that Minazuki had come out on its own, and was now swimming around the hot spring.

"What are you doing out?" Unohana said angrily, "Go back to your normal state before you vomit on me again!" Minazuki let out another whistle.

"Aren't zanpakuto supposed to stay in their sealed state until called upon?" Unohana said, "Now go back to normal before I-" she stopped when she heard a rustle in the bushes nearby. She turned to see the bushes now still, a straw hat peaking out from the top.

"SHUNSUI!!!"

---

Ukitake ran towards the hot springs upon hearing Unohana scream. Kyouraku had run off somewhere, and he thought that Unohana might be in danger. When he arrived, he quickly realized what the scream had been about.

Unohana, her clothes soaking wet and hastily put on, was slamming Kyouraku's face into the ground, his straw hat already smashed to pieces.

"You no good rotten peeping idiot!" she yelled, throwing him to the ground, "I can't believe you!" She ran over to the side of the hot springs and grabbed Minazuki, returning to ram Kyouraku's head down its throat.

She breathed heavily when it was over, still giving small kicks to Kyouraku as he struggled to pull Minazuki off his head.

"What the hell were you doing?" she yelled at him, "You lousy-"

"Hey Retsu," Ukitake interrupted, "What happened to that cut on your cheek?" Unohana put a hand to her cheek, and indeed, the cut was gone.

"What- how…" Unohana muttered. She turned to Kyouraku, who still had Minazuki stuck on his head. "I wonder…" she mused aloud. She pulled Minzazuki off Kyouraku's head. He took a deep breath of air, relieved that he could breathe freely again.

"Hey Retsu, wasn't that a little harsh? I was just joking, really!" he panted.

"You had it coming to you. More importantly, take a look at your face," she said. Kyouraku put a hand to his face, which was covered in slime from Minazuki.

"Eww, you got it all over me, now I- Wait! What happened…"

"I know, the bruises from when I was pummeling you are gone," Unohana said, "It makes sense now, Minazuki is a healing zanpakuto!"

"If that's true, then you are truly gifted," Ukitake said, "After all, with a zanpakuto that can heal so efficiently, you'll no doubt be a vital part of the Gotei 13 someday. You're already really good at combat, so it doesn't matter that much that it's not combat based."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Unohana said, "And now that I think about it, Minazuki will probably be a lot stronger in the future than it is now. I guess I probably misjudged it." Unohana leaned down and patted Minazuki on the back.

"That's great! Isn't it wonderful when things turn out nice like this?" Kyouraku said, "You've probably forgiven me and are thankful that that I helped you discover your zanpaktou's real power, right?"

"Oh of course," Unohana said sweetly, "And to show my gratitude, I have a special gift for you. Close your eyes." Kyouraku did so, grinning widely. The next thing he knew, his head was again shoved down Minazuki's throat.

* * *

Thanks for reading! This probably wasn't that great, but I had the idea and just had to follow it. I know that Minazuki was a lot bigger in the series, but I reason that it probably was smaller and less powerful when Unohana first accessed it. I know that I probably mixed up some things from the bleach storyline, but since this is basically just a little humor story, I think its okay. Please review!


End file.
